A retractable tape measure may include a body, a tape reel, and a measuring tape blade. The body houses the reel and at least a portion of the measuring tape blade that is wound around the reel. The tape reel and wound tape blade generally form a cylinder having a larger diameter (e.g., 4 inches) than height (e.g., 1.5 inches). The body generally conforms to the tape reel and thus generally also has a cylindrical shape. The body further includes a slot that is parallel to a bottom surface of the tape measure. A distal end of measuring tape blade may extend through the slot to permit extending the tape blade from the body. A tab or hook may be affixed to the distal end of the measuring tape blade. The tab may permit the distal end of the measuring tape blade to be secured to an object.
Many tape measures mount the tape reel in the body such that an axis of rotation extends parallel to a bottom surface of the body and perpendicular to left and right sides of the body. Such mounting generally aligns the tape blade such that an upper face of the tape blade is parallel with the bottom surface of the body and the slot as the tape blade uncoils from the tape reel near the bottom surface of the body. Such mounting of the tape reel further results in the tape measure having a narrow base and high center of gravity due to the diameter of the tape reel extending vertically up from the bottom surface of the tape measure body. Due to such vertical orientation of the tape reel, vertical-reel tape measures have a propensity to tip over during use. Tipping over lowers the center of gravity and stabilizes the tape measure. However, tipping over also reorients the tape reel such that the slot is no longer parallel to the surface upon which the tape measure rests, but is perpendicular to such surface. Moreover, such tipping over further twists the extended tape blade such that the upper face of the tape blade is no longer parallel to the surface upon which the tape measure rests, thus making it difficult to obtain an accurate measure.
To address the above issue, some tape measures utilize a horizontal tape reel having an axis of rotation that is perpendicular to a bottom surface of the tape measure body. Despite the axis of rotation of the horizontal-reel tape measure being reoriented with respect to the vertical-reel tape measure, the horizontal-reel tape measure still provides a slot that is parallel to the bottom surface in order to present the tape blade such that an upper face of the tape blade is parallel to the surface upon which the bottom surface rests. In order to achieve such an orientation of the extended tape blade, the horizontal-reel tape measure internally twists the tape blade as it is unwound from the horizontal tape reel. To accommodate such internal twisting of the tape blade, horizontal-reel tape measures have historically exhibited a larger and/or different shaped housing than a vertical-tape tape measure of similar tape blade length. Given the prevalence of vertical-reel tape measures, the larger housings may be perceived as bulky or unwieldy. Moreover, the different shaped housing may be perceived as having an odd, undesirable shape.
Limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches should become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application.